I’m not one of these guys masturbating over my dream revolution or anything, but armed minorities are harder to oppress, and are less tempting targets for individual or group violence.

I’m a queer guy in Portland. There are violent extremists in my town who want to kill me, and are organizing and rallying. I’ve seen them in the streets, and they’ve attacked people and places I care about because they know that the left wing is broadly non-violent, and that cops are on their side.

Looking at the political climate in the US, I don’t think it’s too unreasonable of a reaction to buy a gun and learn to defend yourself, just in case.